Curtain system including flasticized top curtain panels and support for same



M. LUKASHOK CURTAIN SYSTEM INCLUDING ELAsTIcIzED TOP March 18, 1969 CURTAIN PANELS AND SUPPORT FOR SAME Sheet l of 2 Filed March 11. 1968 INVENTOR. MILTON LUKASHOK ATTORNEY March 18, 1969 M. LuKAsHoK 3,433,281

CURTAIN SYSTEM INCLUDING ELASTICIZED TOP CURTAIN PANELS AND SUPPORT FOR SAME Filed March 11, 1968 Sheet 2 of 2 INVENTOR.

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MILTON LUKASHOK ma 4f/4; l C?,

TTORNEH United States Patent Oce Patented Mar. 18, 1969 3,433,281 CURTAIN SYSTEM INCLUDING ELASTICIZED TOP CURTAIN PANELS AND SUPPORT FOR SAME Milton Lukashok, 27 W. 86th St., New York, N.Y. 10024 Filed Mar. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 712,094 U.S. Cl. 160-330 Int. Cl. A47h l/00, 13/14 7 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention A system comprising a telescoping curtain rod having integral fastener elements detachably coupled to drapery hooks which are engaged to the tops of stretched elasticized curtain panels.

Description of the prior art In general, the present invention relates to a system for mounting curtain panels.

Curtain panels often are supported on a curtain rod by providing the top edge of the panel with a fabric tunnel wholly or partly composed of the material of the panel and through which the cutrain rod is threaded. This is a tedious chore, because the tip of the rod tends to catch in the tunnel, and the operation becomes more diflicult to perform after the panel is washed a few times and has lost its original glaze. Moreover, the panel tends to bunch up irregularly on the rod and a housewife usually is not suiciently dextrous to distribute the excess length of the curtain evenly.

It has been proposed to employ a stretch top curtain panel, i.e., a curtain panel with an elasticized top, which at rest contracts to a minimum width capable of eXpansion to a greater width. Such curtain panels were used without curtain rods. It was the practice to utilize only a single such curtain panel and to attach the two ends of the panel to the opposite sides of the area which was to be covered. These curtains have not been acceptable to housewives because of the tendency of the single panel to sag between its points of support and because of the nonconforming appearance inherent in the use of a single panel as distinguished from the more customary type of curtain which uses two panels, either meeting at the center of the area or spaced apart from one another at the center of the area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved curtain supporting system which for the first time incorporates the advantages of both a curtain rod and an elasticized top curtain, but eliminates their disadvantages.

It is another object of the invention to provide a curtain system of the character described in which there are employed stretch top curtain panels in conjunction with a practical structure for supporting the same at plural points.

It is another object of the invention to provide a curtain supporting system of the character described which does away with the time consuming effort of threading a curtain rod through a fabric tunnel, especially after washing, and which yet employs a curtain rod to hold up curtain panels at spaced points along their length.

It is another object of the invention to provide a curtain system of the character described in which the curtain panels are automatically uniformly shirred across their full top widths. That is to say, are uniformly gathered merely by the process of installing them in place and without the user having to carefully distribute the pleats across said edge.

It is another object of the invention to provide a curtain system of the character described because of the construction of which curtain panels may be quickly, simply and easily installed or removed on their associated rods by persons such as housewives who may have only slight manual dexterity.

Other objects of the invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the system hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the novel curtain rod and curtain panel system of the invention, with the curtain rod and one panel of the curtain shown in unattached condition:

FIG. 2 is a view depicting the attachment of two curtain panels to a mounted curtain rod;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view depicting the assembling of the curtain rod and a curtain panel, this view being taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a View of the curtain rod and curtain panel assembly system taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 4 4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a View of a part or section of a curtain panel, showing the same in relaxed condition before being attached to a curtain rod;

FIG. 6 is a view of the same panel depicting the condition thereof when stretched and ready for attachment to a rod;

FIG. 7 is a View depicting the adaptation of the system of the invention to the hanging of a three panel curtain of the tailored type;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a further adaptation of the system of the invention to the hanging of curtains of the criss-cross ruflled type, each panel of which extends the full width of the mounted rod;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the curtain and rod system of FIG. 8 taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 9--9 of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a view of the structure shown in FIG. 9 taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more in detail to the drawings, the curtain rod and curtain panel system of the present invention comprises a curtain rod R of the type having telescopic outer and inner sections 20 and 22 of a form well known in the art, the said sections being telescoped for length (window width) adjustment, said curtain rod sections being each provided with spaced fastener elements, and a curtain C formed with an elastically eX- pansible top T, the said curtain top being provided with spaced fastener elements for the separable mating with the fastener elements in the curtain rod sections.

The separable mating fastener elements on the curtain rod sections and on the curtain top may be of any desired form or structure, a preferred form as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings comprising female fastener elements 24, 24 formed in the outer rod section 20 and similar female fastener elements 26, 26 formed in the inner rod section 22; and male fasteners 28, 28 attached to the elastically expansible top T of the curtain. As shown, these fastener elements are of the hook and eye type; the fastener elements 24 and 26 comprising eyes which are integral with the metal rod sections and 22 and are made by being pressed out of the material of these rod sections to provide bails whose ends are unitary with the sections, the fastener elements 28 comprising hook shaped elements attached to the elastically expansible curtain top T.

Preferably, each of the curtain rod sections is provided with a substantial number of fastener elements, and as shown in FIG. l of the drawings, the outer rod section 20 is formed with six eyes 24, 24, two at the extremities of this section, and the others spaced equally apart intermediate the same; and the inner rod section 22 is similarly provided with six eyes 26, 26, two being arranged adjacent the extremities thereof, and the others at equally spaced intermediate positions. The curtain rod sections 20 and 22 each comprises a portion adapted to be mounted in parallel to the window width and an attaching portion adapted to be mounted normal to the Window width as clearly shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. To accommodate the reception of the eyes 26, 26 by the outer rod section 20 when the two sections are telescopically collapsed, the inner rod section 22 is concave medially thereof at 30, as indicated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, so that said eyes 26 are recessed enough to be received within the outer section.

It will thus be noted that the rod sections are adjustable to the full telescopic length of each section, the fastener elements or eyes 26, 26 of the inner rod section 22 being accommodated by the outer rod section 20 in the telescopic adjustment of the rod sections.

To carry out the purpose of the invention, the top of the curtain C is elasticized; that is to say, an elastic element is incorporated adjacent the top edge of each panel. The elastic element may 'be in the form of horizontally extending elastic threads woven into the top marginal portion of each panel or it may constitute horizontal rows of elastic thread stitched under tension along the top marginal portion of each panel. As shown, the top of the curtain is elasticized by stitching thereto a longitudinally elastic horizontally disposed strip 34. The length of the elastic strip is less than the width of the curtain panel. Prior to stitching the elastic strip in place the elastic strip is tensed so as to stretch the same to substantially the full width of the panel to which it is to be sewed. Then the strip is attached to the panel by rows of stitching 36. In order for the stitching to expand or contract its length with ease, the stitching is of the zig zag type. Alternately, the stitching, as shown, is performed with elastic threads. After the stitching is completed the tension is released from the elastic strip, which then is restored by contraction to its original relaxed length and in so doing contracts the top edge of the curtain. Such contraction results in a shirring, i.e., gathering 32, of the top edge of the curtain, and because the stitching is uniform and the contraction of the top edge of the curtain is uniform the shirring or gathering of the upper portion of the curtain is uniform without anyone having to take any special steps to ensure uniformity. By means of this curtain structure, it will be apparent that the curtain top T shown in its normal relaxed and contracted condition in FIGS. 1 and 5 may be stretched to its elastically expanded condition as depicted in FIG. 6 of the drawings, and as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings when the curtain panels are mounted on the curtain rod.

By means of this recited curtain rod and curtain combination it will now be apparent that the hanging or the removal of the curtain is accomplished simply by mating or separating the male and female fastener elements of the curtain and curtain rod respectively. I have found that the curtain, particularly where it comprises a relatively narrow panel, need only be provided with two male fastening elements or hooks located at the curtain extremities since the stretching of the elastic band 34 and its contact with the body of the curtain rod offers adequate support for the hung curtain. However, for a wide curtain panel a middle hook 28, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, may be provided to effect a more secure hanging support for the curtain. In hanging each panel of the curtain all that is necessary is to engage the hooks 28, 28 of the curtain top T with either the eyes 24, 24 of the outer curtain rod section 20 or the eyes 26, 26 of the inner curtain rod section 22; and in removing the curtain from the curtain rod all that is required is to detach the fastener elements. It will be further apparent that with this curtain rod and curtain combination, it is no longer required to hand adjust the panel tops to obtain a symmetrical distribution of the curtain panels, since a symmetrical and uniform distribution of the shirred curtain tops is automatically effected during the hanging operation. It -has been observed that curtains so mounted, with stretched elasticized tops secured at spaced points to a curtain rod, apparently due to the contracting action of the elasticized top, tend to curl toward the curtain rod so that although the curtain rod is detachably attached by the hooks and eyes only to spaced portions of the curtain panel, sometimes only the ends of the curtain panel, the panel nevertheless is supported along its top by the rigid length of the curtain rod so that the panel does not tend to sag. The tendency of the curtain top to curl around and cling to the curtain rod is further enhanced where one end of the curtain rod has a rearwardly turned leg and an eye is located on this leg with the curtain panel having a hook coupled to such eye.

The curtain rod and curtain combination of the present invention may be adapted for a number of types of curtain mountings, and for tailored, ruflled and criss-cross curtain shapes. In FIG. 7 of the drawings 1 illustrate the adaptation of the structure of the invention to the hanging of three tailored curtain panels C', C', each formed with a shirred and elastically expansible top T', T', similar to that described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 6 of the drawings, the said curtains being hung on an expanded curtain rod R of the type and structure depicted in FIGS. 1 to 6 of the drawings.

In FIGS. 8 to 10 of the drawings I show the adaptation of the structure of the invention to the hanging of two criss-crossed ruffled curtains, each extending the width of the window and rod mounting. For this purpose it is customary to provide two curtain rods here shown as an interiorly disposed curtain rod R2 and an exteriorly disposed curtain rod R3, the correspondingly positioned curtains being designated as C2 and C3. These curtain rods and curtains are otherwise constructed in the same way as the curtain rods and curtains described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 6 of the drawings.

The use and the advantages of the Icurtain rod and the curtain of the present invention will, it is believed, be clearly apparent from the above detailed description of the structure and functions thereof. -It will be further apparent that many changes may be made in both the curtain rod and the curtain of the combination without departing from the principles of the invention described and the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

What is lclaimed is:

1. A curtain system including a curtain panel having an elasticized top which in relaxed condition of the panel contracts the top to a minimum width and which permits the top of the panel to be stretched to greater widths, a curtain rod having telescopic sections adjustable for length for window width adjustmen-t, the minimum length of the curtain rod exceeding the width of the curtain panel in relaxed condition, said curtain rod sections being each provided along its length with spaced fastener elements and said curtain panel being provided at its said elasticized top with spaced fastener elements for separable mating with the fastener elements of the curtain rod sections, the fastener elements on the curtain panel being closer together when the panel is relaxed than the associated fastener elements on the curtain rod sections so that when the panel is mounted on the curtain rod the panel is stretched to match the spacing between the elements on the panel to the spacing between the elements on the curtain rod.

2. A curtain system as set forth in claim 1 in which the elastcized top of the panel comprises a top of fabric and an elastic band attached to the fabric, the length of the band in relaxed condition is less than the width of the panel, the band being stitched to the panel with the band in expanded position and of a length matching the width of the panel so that when the band is relaxed the top of the panel is shirred.

3. A curtain system as set forth in claim 2 in which th.x spaced fastener elements on the curtain are attached to the elastic band.

4. A curtain system as set forth in claim 1 in which the fastener elements comprise male and female elements, the male elements consisting of hooks on the curtain and the female elements consisting of eyes integral with the rod sections.

5. A curtain system as set forth in claim 4 wher-ein the hooks are vertically disposed.

6. A curtain system as set forth in claim 1 in which the curtain is composed of at least t-Wo separate panels, each having an elasticized top and each provided with spaced fastener elements.

7. A -curtain system as set forth in claim 1 in which the spaced fastener elements of the curtain rod sections are integral with said sections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 736,242 8/ 1903 Gable 160-348 X 824,427 6/ 1906 Lamping 160-330 1,061,988 5/1913 Currie i60-330 2,416,448A 2/ 1947 Lepow. 2,555,155 5/1951 Rubman 160--348 2,555,847 6/1951 Druck 160-348 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner. 

